A new study on omega-3 intake conducted at the University of East Anglia has made for some splashy headlines around the world. The study, published in November in Nutrition Research Reviews, highlighted that about 76% of the global population is failing to meet the recommended intake for omega-3 essential fatty acids. However, while the new study examined the global picture, several recent U.S.-specific studies confirm that American omega-3 intake is faring even worse than the global average. And one important aspect of this research is that, due to the highly-processed U.S. diet culture, omega-3 deficiencies start at birth. Expectant mothers and parents of toddlers take note: It's not just the elderly who need a good essential fatty acid supplement! Recent findings Much of what we know about omega-3 intake comes from universities and private organizations utilizing and analyzing data collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). NHANES is operated by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, and has been collecting data about the health of adults and children across the U.S. since the 1960s. NHANES started as a series of surveys that focused on different population groups and health topics. Since 1999 NHANES has been conducted without interruption. • The 2021 NHANES Serum Concentration Study examined actual blood levels (serum concentrations) rather than just relying on self-reported food diaries—providing a more biological "astute analysis" of the problem. It famously found that the vast majority of Americans, especially children, have levels well below what is considered cardio-protective. Over 95% of children and 68% of adults had omega-3 concentrations below those associated with the federal dietary guidelines. The researchers also found that approximately 89% of adults had an Omega-3 Index in the high cardiovascular risk category. In global comparison, researchers found that in countries like South Korea or Iceland, children often reach optimal levels through cultural dietary staples like seaweed and almost-daily fish. Meanwhile, in the U.S., seafood is rarely a regular part of a child's diet. To realize the impact of this finding, parents need to understand that American children average only about 20–40 mg of combined EPA/DHA daily—about 10% of the 250–500 mg most pediatric experts now suggest for optimal brain development. • A later analysis, published in January 2023 and referred to as the NHANES Scoping Review, looked at how dietary and supplemental intake specifically affects the Omega-3 Index (a more stable measure of long-term status). It concluded that even those eating fish regularly often fail to reach optimal levels. Presumably due to all the other negative aspects of America's highly-processed diet, optimal levels of omega-3 are usually only reached when supplements are added to the diet. • Perhaps the most astonishing omega-3 analysis is the 2024 study on U.S. doctors revealing that, despite their medical knowledge, 95% of them failed to reach the optimal Omega-3 Index of 8% in their own lives. The study, entitled Omega-3 Index and Omega-3 Knowledge of US Family Physicians, was published in Current Developments in Nutrition and has been widely cited. Considering the 95% rate is eerily similar to the 95% rate of deficiency shown in children, the study is used to illustrate that the omega-3 intake problem is systemic... it even occurs in the lives of the medical professionals! Why is the U.S. so far behind? In the 2023 Scoping Review one University of Arizona researcher noted that the consensus across all studies is that while the whole world is struggling, the amount of omega-3 in the American diet is "abysmally low." There also appears to be a consensus on the primary reasons for this: Low seafood consumption and a high reliance on processed foods. One of the researchers termed the situation as "the "western diet penalty." This "penalty" refers to the fact that the U.S. diet is exceptionally high in omega-6 fatty acids—found in soybean, corn, and cottonseed oils—which compete with omega-3s for the same enzymes in the body. Essentially, Americans aren't just low on the "good stuff"—they're drowning in the "competing stuff." The problem is solidified by America's reliance on ultra-processed foods. Recent data shows that over 60% of the American caloric intake comes from ultra-processed foods. These are the very foods that are almost devoid of omega-3 fatty acids, but extremely high in omega-6 oils. Unlike Japanese or Scandinavian cultures, where fish is an almost-daily staple, the average American eats seafood only once a week or less—and much of that is fried or low-omega seafood like shrimp. A catch 22 for parents Many American parents avoid giving their children fish altogether out of an over-abundance of caution regarding mercury. They also avoid omega-3 supplements for their children for the same reason. This inadvertently causes a different, documented harm: omega-3 deficiency. You can avoid this supplementing concern by turning to a quality supplement that uses algae instead of fish oil (algae is where fish and krill get their omega-3s, after all). To learn more, see the banner ad for Optimal E.F.A. below. Sources for this article include: Nutrition Research Reviews, CDC.gov, BMJopen.com, NIH-PubMed Central, Frontiers in Nutrition, Current Developments in Nutrition. 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